"Initially I wanted to do it in London and I wrote to various people to try to get it off the ground.

"I was offered a huge number of properties, including a multi-storey car park, but I then decided I wanted to do it in Margate because I was excited by the arrival of the Turner Contemporary art gallery."

He added: "I was aware of this idea that people have a choice whether or not they go through the doors of an art gallery, and often they don't because they feel intimidated, so I think public art is important.

"I wanted to create something that captured humour, illusion and would be accessible to people from all types of different backgrounds.

"The response has been very positive."

Last year, Mr Chinneck installed more than 1,200 pieces of glass across the facade of a factory in Hackney to create the illusion that its 312 windows had been identically smashed and cracked.

Thanet District Council leader Clive Hart said: "This kind of innovative art will encourage and attract people from all over the world to Thanet, which is a very exciting prospect for us."